By Mandile Mpofu

1. Attend a holiday tree or Menorah lighting

Ring in the festive seasons at this year’s holiday tree and Menorah lighting events where Mayor Katjana Ballantyne and the Somerville Arts Council will light up City Hall concourse. The holiday celebration will include refreshments and entertainment.

By Jason Gutierrez

Sticky, sweet, raw. The Urban Bee Lab’s inaugural Urban Waggle fundraiser hosted Boston’s brightest performers for an evening of honey-saturated stories at Somerville’s Arts at the Armory. The event’s namesake “waggle” dance performed by honey bees to signal nearby food, water, and safety. To the hive, the figure eight motion symbolizes hope, excitement and life.

Kick off the holiday season with the City of Somerville on Thursday, December 7, at 5:00 p.m. at the Holiday Lighting on the City Hall Concourse. Enjoy live entertainment, a meet-and-greet with Santa Claus in the Somerville High School Cafeteria, and light refreshments. All children who attend will receive a special gift from Santa. Santa Claus will be escorted by the Somerville Fire and Police Departments making his grand entrance atop a shiny red fire truck.

On Saturday, December 2, DLJ Developers at Boynton Yards held a family day for the Holiday Stroll in Union Sq. Special thanks to the DPW, Fire Department and the Police Department for bringing their trucks, rigs and motorcycles to the event.

As we get into the snowy months of winter it’s good for all of us to make sure we understand what the odd-even rules are and where we stand this season.

Here is a reminder of what the city’s snow parking rules and guidelines are for the 23/24 winter season:

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These are not your traditional Italian chocolate spice cookies made for the Christmas season, but make a great tradition nonetheless. Over the years this recipe has been adjusted many times and this year’s batch is the best one yet! These light and airy cookies are not too sweet and pack a concentrated dark chocolate flavor. The secret? Espresso.

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I recently caught up with Somerville artist C. Marlo Feinberg. From her website:

Marlo currently focuses on working in pen and ink, and oils. Her subjects capture her own personal life and her deep interests through her own eyes. Some of those are counterculture, dogs, music, architecture, history, movement, and the abstract.

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Linda Lerner’s Taking the F Train (NYQ Books, 2021) was chosen as a finalist in the 2022 Paterson Poetry Prize. How It Was (2020—2021) And Is (Iniquity Press/vendetta Books, 2023) is her most recent collection. Her poems have appeared in and are forthcoming from: Gargoyle, One Art, Big City Lit, Pinyon Review, Main Street Rag, The Raven’s Perch and Maintenant, among others.

Shop for the holidays while helping to fund medical care for cats and kittens awaiting adoption

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and Kitty Connection is ready to help you get ready. An all-volunteer non-profit dedicated to rescuing and finding safe, loving homes for local cats and dogs, Kitty Connection will hold a holiday-themed Online Auction from Friday, December 8 through Sunday, December 10. Auction proceeds will go toward the cost of pre-adoption medical procedures for cats and kittens.